Thomas not sure if season will be finished - but he says Cobblers squad is raring to go

Thomas spoke to all players via a Zoom call on Monday and the response was unanimous in wanting get the season up and running again.

However, two months on from when football was first suspended and there is still little clarity regarding the viability of completing the campaign, particularly after Rick Parry's comments earlier on Tuesday when he set a deadline of July 31st.

That leaves a tight timeframe for players to return to training and start playing matches again, although Thomas is wary of making predictions with any certainty before Prime Minister Boris Johnson lays out the next phase of the government's response to COVID, expected to come this weekend.

"Rick's been working really hard and it's a very tough situation and tough decisions will need to be made," said Thomas.

"It's hard to say at the moment without the government feedback and I think we have to be careful not to speculate too much because we don't want to say that this or that is going to happen.

"What we've got to do is be patient and wait for government feedback and then look at the options in front of us."

He did admit, though, that with each passing week it becomes increasingly difficult to find a solution that works for all, even if Cobblers are keen to play themselves.

"As time ticks by, it gets harder and harder to get the season completed in any way shape or form," he added. "It becomes a challenge because we've got to get players back in training for that to happen - can we do that in a safe environment? That's still a question mark in my eyes.

"We have to look at health and safety first and we'll always take that approach but I spoke to all the players on Monday and the good thing is, from our perspective as a football club, they are willing to get going as quickly as possible once restrictions have been lifted.

"They feel like they've got a job to do and they want to get on with it and finish the season - and that's still our mindset as a club because we want to finish the season, but it has to be safe."